Sydney Chinatown has 5 Food Courts

Can you name all five food courts in Sydney’s Chinatown?

Each week for the next five weeks, noodlies, Sydney food blog will add a new food court, including a video walk through. Join me on this delicious adventure, won’t you?

We all know there’s good, cheap eating to be had in a Chinatown food court, but did you know there are actually five of these delicious food courts? Each week I’ll be adding a new entry with a complete listing of the food stalls. Starting with one you may not have heard of before…

Market City Food Court

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This was the most cosmopolitan of all the Chinatown Food Courts, with Indian and even a sandwich shop together with typical Asian fast feeds. That was when it was on Level 3. It all changed this year, when the Food Court moved to Level 1 amongst the other retail shops. From 14 food stalls, with abundant seating, today there are seven – only three have made the move. The choice is now Asian: R&S Flavour of North India and Leonardo’s Sandwiches are gone. Korean and Vietnamese are no longer represented – Ugly BOB Stylish Korean Food and Bo 7 Mon Thanh Tam (the best pho in Central Sydney) are both gone. There are four new Asian stalls including a Taiwanese noodle shop.

Where Level 3 was spacious, clean and bright, the new incarnation is about taking it up market; lots of wood and moody down lights. With this rationalisation, Market City Food Court is now the second smallest in terms of choice – only Sydney Central (below) offers less choice (four stalls). Noodlies hasn’t had the chance to see if prices have gone up after the cut and glam. Is it a case of quality over quantity? Time will tell, but one thing is immediately noticeable, the smaller location makes it much harder to get a seat, it’s a considerably more stressful experience.

Super Chef BBQ: your first taste of Chinese egg noodle soup is likely to have been here. After the cull, it’s still keep on, keeping on!

Kaedama Ramen Bar: Specialises in Hakata ramen. May not be as competitive compared to ramen stalls in other Food Courts, but at least they have a limited number of their own counter seats.

Lao Dong Noodles: The first Aussie location of this Taiwanese chain that’s been around for over half a century. They promote the fact that they use 100% premium Australian beef (why wouldn’t you?) cooked using secret recipes that date over three generations. My first bowl of one of their signature dishes left me underwhelmed, but given their history, I’ll be back soon for a second opinion.

Market City Food CourtLevel 1, Market City, 9-13 Hay St, Haymarket

Dixon House Food Court

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Established in 1982, Dixon House Food Court is the oldest in Chinatown. Enter via Dixon or Little Hay street for old world charm; you’ll find wooden columns and mirrored ceilings, features that might have been glamorous once upon a time. Over the years it’s had its share of ups and downs. Most recently it’s been more down than up. A gas explosion shut the food court over Christmas 2016. Some of the food stalls never re-opened. The good news is that occupancy is on the increase.

Phnom Penh Teo Cheo Noodle House: your first taste of Chinese egg noodle soup is likely to have been here, it’s one of the longest running stall in Chinatown and still going strong.

Blossoming Lotus Vegan: Vegetarians will rejoice, Vego that hasn’t had a flavour by-pass. The mock duck soup is tasty-as.

Yang Guo Fu Ma La Tang: It’s hotpot for one, grab a bowl and tong and move a long school canteen style to pick ingredients, cabbage, enoki, Chinese mushroom, tofu, egg, rice noodles and a bewildering range of meat and fish balls. Get to the end, and weigh and pay. They’ll cook it up for you. Watch the video above and you’ll see what I mean.

A tip: keep away from Sizzling and Hot Pot Kitchen if you’re going back to the office or out later, the smoke from the sizzling hotplates will have you smelling like a food court.

Opposite the Capitol Theatre and under Zilver Chinese Restaurant is this hidden food court. It’s the smallest of all the Chinatown food courts, but the lighting is probably the most well balanced with some decent natural lighting overhead. It’s much more agreeable than harsh neons in others. It’s also a lot smaller, but no less busy.